“It’s a statement about the dark and weird place the world is these days…” - hmv.com talks to Architects

Brighton metallers Architects follow-up the much-loved Lost Forever // Lost Together with a crushing new LP named All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us today (you can preview and purchase it on the right-hand side of the page). To find out all about recording the album in the depths of the Swedish winter, why this is an album of full anger and the band’s plans to take it round the world, we spoke to frontman Sam Carter…

So All Our Gods Have Abandoned Us is out today! How long have you had it finished for?

“We finished it at the end of last year and we’ve been sat on it for a while, which is always hard, because you just want people to hear it. It does make release week way more exciting though, so it’s worth it.”

You went back to Gothenburg to work with Henrik Udd and Fredrik Nordström, which is the same place and team as you had for Lost Forever // Lost Together, why did you decide to go with them again?

“They did such a good job last time and I think we knew anywhere else we went they wouldn’t be as dedicated. They put in such a shift last time and worked as hard as we did, so going back was a no brainer, they completely understand us.”

How did recording compare to making Lost Forever // Lost Together?

“It was longer, it took double the time, last time it was three and a half weeks, this time it was seven. It was a bit more relaxed, but we pushed ourselves very hard. We actually stayed in quite a cool place, it was a drive to the studio and back, so we could relax more, but it’s always a very intense experience.”

Sweden in November must have been very cold, did you get out and about much?

“It was miserable as sin. It was grey all day and if it wasn’t grey it was raining. Very grim. We got out a fair bit. If we weren’t recording we’d go out. We’d go on drives and out for walks and we went into town a lot more this time.”

This is your first album with Adam (Christianson) as a permanent guitarist, what did he bring to the process?

“It was great to have another pair of eyes in the studio. He’s obsessed with gear, so he’d forever be suggesting different sounds and things to try, he’s also brilliant to have around, he’s never fazed, always happy, he’s been our friend for a long time and it was great to share with him.”

He’d been a part of your live set-up for a while, why did you decide to make him a permanent member of Architects?

“He was so dedicated. He’d spend months with us and we realised that we never want anyone else to fill in so why not let him be part of it? He’s been our friend for a long time and he’s just been brilliant to have in the band.”

Tom (Searle, guitarist) has written all the lyrics and music on this album again, seems like he’s in pretty top form...

“He’s absolutely killing it. He writes all the music and all the words and he blows me away. He’s never confident, he’s forever coming to me and saying ‘Is this okay?’ and it’s always fantastic.”

How closely do you work together on the songs?

“We work very closely together. He’ll write them and then he’ll bring them to me and I’ll figure them out for the song, what’s the verse and what’s the chorus etc. We work out how it all fits, we’re a very strong team.”

How did you want the album to move on from Lost Forever // Lost Together?

“We wanted it to be in a similar vein, but more experimental and to blow people away. People think when you’re doing well you’re just going to sell out or just do the same thing, we wanted to mix it up and not give people what they thought they were going to get. We wanted to do things that we didn’t have the confidence to do before.”

This is another album that’s quite political, do you all agree on everything in those terms?

“We’re all very similar people, we all feel the same way about things. We share political views and opinions. Tom will talk us through everything and if I didn’t believe what he was saying then I wouldn’t sing it, I wouldn’t be able to do it justice.”

Where did the title come from?

“The title is from the lyrics to ‘Nihilist’, which is the opening track. It’s a statement about the dark and weird place the world is these days, we seem to have abandoned the simpler ways of living life and moved to a place where we’re just trying to f**k each other over. Whether our gods have abandoned us or we’ve abandoned them, it’s a statement with real impact. When you see that title you know this is going to be a heavy record. Heavy in title, heavy in songs.”

This is your seventh record, picking a set list must be hard these days?

“It’s going to be a lot of Lost Forever and lots of this. It’ll be a little more difficult at the end of the year, but we can do a set that’s all bangers, touring this is going to be a lot of fun.”

What are your plans to take the album out live?

“We’re going hard, lots of European festivals, we’re off to Australia with Bring Me The Horizon, then a big UK headline tour, big European tour, we’ll take it as far as we can.”